But house prices have risen substantially and borrowers could be in for a shock if the Bank of England decided to start raising rates..

According to Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, the record low interest rates "have instilled complacency in markets about households’ ability to maintain mortgage payments if the economy weakens significantly," said Tombs.

"Mortgage arrears likely would rise sharply if the slowdown in the labour market becomes more pernicious and joblessness begins to rise."

While mortgage repayments have been lowered by near-zero Bank of England interest rates, the overall amount of debt relative to income borrowers have had to take on to buy a home has skyrocketed along with house prices.